A Kitty Kat: OneShot Series
by Silver Inklett
Summary: Ch 5: A White Kat: "If you had ever told Katarina Bishop that one day she would be walking down the aisle in an ivory dress, she would have laughed in your face."
1. A Scaredy Kat

**I do not own Uncommon Criminals, or any of the characters that Ally Carter created. I'm just borrowing them, and I promise I'll put them back where I found them when I'm done.**

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**A Scaredy Kat**

**Contains spoilers for "**_**Uncommon Criminals"**_

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Hale liked to think that he knew almost everything there was to know about Katarina Bishop. He knew how she liked her hot chocolate (not too hot with a little bit of cinnamon), he knew how to tell when she was on the rag (she got much louder and her shirts stopped fitting right for a week or so), and he knew where she went whenever she was upset (no matter what country they were in, she would always end up in front of a bakery, hands in her pockets). But there were moments when he felt like he didn't know her at all.

One of those moments was when he woke with a start aboard the _W. W. Hale_ to a sound he had only heard in some of his worst nightmares. Kat, screaming into the Monaco air.

As Hale jumped out of his bed and threw the door to his cabin open with a bang, his first thought was that Maggie had found the boat and was trying to take Kat out of the picture. As he sprinted down the hall, his second thought was that she had found a rat in her bunk (another thing that he knew about Kat; she was as terrified of rats as she was of water). But when he stormed into her room, he thought of a third option that he doubt any one would have ever considered.

Katarina Bishops was caught in the clutches of a nightmare. And a pretty bad one by the looks of it.

"Kat," he said in a calm voice. "Kat, wake up, it's just a dream!"

"NO! STAY BACK!" Kat screamed, her big blue eyes screwed shut and her black hair stuck to her sweat covered forehead. She tossed and turned wildly, her sheets in a heap on the ground. Hale tried to ignore the fact that she was clad in nothing but an oversized t-shirt (which, he noted with equal satisfaction and annoyance, was his) and a pair of boy short undies, but the part of him that was a teenage boy refused to ignore the long sweat covered legs that emerging for under his t-shirt.

"KAT!" he yelled, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her slightly. "Wake up!"

Kat's eyes shot open, the bright blue irises darting around the room and Hale sighed in relief at the sight. But Kat continued to jerk around in his grip, making small whimpering noises.

"Oh god," she gasped, shaking like a leaf. "Oh god please no!"

"Kitty Kat," Hale cooed, pulling her closer. "It's okay, it was just a dream." He held her close to his bare chest, resting his chin on her rat's nest of hair. "It's going to be fine."

It took a few moments for Kat to realize that she was awake and in the arms of her best friend. She relaxed slightly, her head tilting up so that she could look up into his worried eyes. "I…" she started, but Hale just twined his fingers into her dark hair and pressed her head into his chest again.

"Sh," he whispered, stroking the top of her head soothingly. "It's okay. I've got you."

Kat was used to being lied to, but as she sat shivering in Hale's arms, she knew that he wasn't conning her. So she let herself be pulled closer. She didn't object to it when he pressed his lips to the top of her head and whispered calming words in her ear. She simply wrapped her arms around his waist and began to sob into his chest.

"Oh god Hale!" she sobbed. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, but as Hale's broad hands drifted up and down her arms soothingly, she began to cool down.

"Shhh, Kitty Kat, it's okay. You don't have to worry." Hale had been in the business long enough to notice the smaller things, so he didn't miss the sound of Kat's door (which had rebounded against the wall when the worried sixteen year old had thrown it open with as much force as he could) creaking open slightly, or the sound of four teens breathing outside said door. He also heard when Hamish whistled lowly and said, "Kat's still got legs," but he would have to deal with that later.

"What happened baby," he said calmly, tipping her head back slightly so that he could look her dead in the eye. Kat's puffy red eyes widened slightly at the "baby," and she unconsciously thought, '_I kissed you. I kissed you and you left.'_

Suddenly Hale's arms felt too hot, too constricting around her tiny frame.

"I…" Kat started again, pushing lightly on Hale's chest and scooting back slightly."I had a nightmare, that's all."

"Looked more like someone was trying to kill you," Hale said, trying to hide his hurt expression after Kat had pushed him away. His mind flashed to a street in New York and a sudden kiss in the back of a limo, and he couldn't stop the shivers that ran down his back. He still lay awake at night wondering why he hadn't kissed her back. After all, it's what he had been waiting for for nearly two years, so why had he held back?

"It was a really bad one," Kat admitted quietly, drawing her knees up to her chest and not hearing three teenage boys gasp collectively in awe of the two pale limbs.

"I didn't know you had nightmares."

Kat winced, looking down at her toes. Until recently, she hadn't. It had started when the boy sitting in front of her had taken her from (the Bagshaws preferred the term "broken her out of") the Colgan School, telling her that her father had a noose around his neck and that a man by the name of Taccone was about to drop the floor out from under his feet. The flight over to Paris was the first one, featuring empty school grounds and a faceless man with a thick accent. After that, they got progressively worse, though until now she had been able to hide it.

"I don't." Hale's eyebrow rose. "I didn't," she amended, not being able to look her friend in the eye.

"How long?" Kat curled up even more, trying to hide behind black bangs that were too short to cover her eyes.

"Ever since the Henley job," she admitted. She winced again when Hale stood from the bed, running his fingers through his light brown hair and cussing under his breath.

"Damn it," he hissed, and Kat's eyes widened. Hale didn't cuss often, but when he did, it meant he was either upset, pissed, or scared. 'Why didn't you tell me Kat?" he asked, his voice taking on a whole new tone. He was hurt that she hadn't told him, but then again, she hadn't told him much in the past two months.

"I didn't want to worry you," she said pathetically. She knew it was the wrong thing to say the second it came out of her mouth, and this was confirmed when Hale growled in the back of his throat and trapped Kat against her backboard. Her eyes widened slightly at the close proximity and once again, she thought _'I kissed you and you left.' _

"Kat," Hale said slowly, his voice low and smooth. "If you didn't want to worry me, you would never have left for Rio, or Moscow." Kat's mouth opened, but Hale beat her to it. "I worry about you Kat. I worry every time you're gone and I don't know where you are. So don't you dare say that you 'didn't want to worry me,' because I'm going to be gray from worrying about you before I'm thirty."

Kat stared up at him with wide eyes, their breath mingling. "Hale," she whispered, her lip quivering slightly.

Katarina Bishop didn't cry.

W. W. Hale the Fifth was one of the few who could make her.

Hale sighed, pushing away from the silent girl before wiping a few tears away from her dark lashes. "I wasn't aiming to make you cry," he said quietly. Kat just nodded, wiping the rest of her tears with the heel of her hand.

"I never thought you were," she said with a quiet hiccup. Hale pulled her close to him again, his hand resting on the back of her head. "… It was Maggie," she said quietly, her eyes fluttering closed as she focused on Hale's heart beat.

"What was Maggie?" Hale asked quietly, tilting his head down a little so that he could look at her better.

"My nightmare. We were back at the casino, all dressed up, but when I turned around, everybody was gone except for you. I tried to yell, but you couldn't hear me. I heard someone laugh behind me and I turned around, and I was in a different room. There was nothing but a chair and a big mirror, but when I looked in the mirror, it wasn't me. It was Maggie, wearing the same dress I was. She said 'We're the same, you and I,' and then the reflection lunged at me, clawing at my face and my chest. That's when I started screaming, and then you woke me up."

Hale was silent for a few moments before sighing, pulling the quietly crying girl closer to him and resting his chin on her head again.

"You make it really difficult for me to take care of you, you know that right?"

Kat didn't try to push him away when she said, "I didn't know you were trying."

"Well then, for a genius, you're pretty stupid." Kat laughed quietly at this, and Hale smiled, pressing his lips against her forehead. "You doing better?" he asked, his lips moving against her pale skin.

"I think so," Kat replied, curling up closer to her best friend. They were both silent for a few minutes, and it wasn't until Hale felt Kat's soft even breathing did he realize that she had fallen asleep, the even beats of his heart her lullaby. He sighed, shaking his head as he ran his fingers through her soft black hair.

"I'm not gonna be able to leave, am I?" he sighed.

"Nope."

"I wasn't asking you Gabrielle," Hale snapped quietly, glaring over his shoulder at the four teens that had just strolled in.

"I didn't know Kat had nightmares," Simon said quietly, leaning closer to the soundly sleeping girl.

"Yeah well, she does-Would you stop staring at her!" he snapped, pushing the three boys away with one hand and cradling Kat closer to his body with the other.

"Sorry man," Angus said with a smirk. "It's the legs, they're _calling_ to us."

"They're not _calling_ to anyone," Hale hissed, grabbing Kat's legs and drawing them closer so that she was curled up in his lap. "Now I suggest you all leave."

"But-"

"Now."

"Even if we-"

"Go."

"What about-"

"_Leave." _The three boys took a quick step away from the growling boy. Gabrielle just rolled her eyes and took a few steps closer, brushing a few strands of hair out of the young thief's face and placing a blanket over both Hale and Kat. She leaned closer and pressed her lips to Kat's forehead in a sisterly show of affection, then kissed Hale's cheek.

"Goodnight," she said with a soft smile, ruffling Hale's hair affectionately. Hale simply smirked and stuck his tongue out at the blonde girl. He adjusted himself and Kat so that he was leaning against the wall, his legs on either side of her and her petite form curled up between his legs. Hale's head fell back and he found himself falling asleep to the soft sounds of his Kitty Kat breathing.


	2. A Singing Kat

**I do not own Uncommon Criminals, or any of the characters that Ally Carter created. I'm just borrowing them, and I promise I'll put them back where I found them when I'm done.**

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**A Singing Kat**

**AKA, "Gabrielle's Great Embarrassment and Kat's Great Redemption"**

**-0-**

Kat leaned against the wall, one corner of her mouth pulled up as she watched the four boys fuss over her cousin. They were currently standing in the lobby of a fairly popular hotel in Las Vegas, Gabrielle looking as gorgeous as ever and Kat feeling rather at one with the wall she stood in front of.

"Are you _sure _you can do this?" Hale asked the blonde for what had to be the hundredth time, brown eyes narrowed. Gabrielle rolled her eyes. Kat snorted.

"Of course I am, Hale! Quit your worrying," she teased, flipping her hair. Kat snorted again, and Hale shot her a look, quirking a light brown eyebrow. She just smiled innocently at him, fluttering her dark lashes and mouthing "Nothing." He shook his head slowly and they all filed into the large theater that the hotel housed. As they passed the fairly large sign standing outside the door, Kat started to laugh.

"Okay, _seriously," _Hale hissed, grabbing the top of Kat's arm and pulling her back against his chest. "What is so funny? You worry me when you laugh like that. It's surprisingly evil sounding." Kat just grinned and walked into the theater, once again laughing as she passed the sign that said (in rather obnoxious pink lettering) "Singing Contest Auditions TODAY!"

They weren't really here to contend, that would just be silly. The hotel, in a ploy to become more popular, was holding an exhibit featuring a necklace with a rather large black diamond along with holding the "American Idol"-esque competition. Getting one of them into the competition was simply the easiest way to get to it. And of course, beautiful Gabs was picked to be the "lucky" contestant. Hale had offered to go up, but he was quote unquote "too recognizable."

That, and Gabs just wanted to perform.

"Gabrielle Montoya?" Gabrielle perked up, trotting to the front and taking her place on stage. She smiled widely at the judges and Kat knew that they were in love with the unbelievably pretty blonde. "Ms. Montoya, are you ready to perform for us?" one of the judges asked, a young male who kept winking flirtatiously at the thief.

"Yes, I am!" she said confidently, adding a cute giggle at the end. Kat giggled too, but it wasn't cute.

It was more like maniacal.

The music began to play, and Gabrielle opened her mouth to sing. When the first note left her plump red lips Hale knew exactly why Kat had been cackling evilly (she was currently against the wall, doubled over in laughter).

Gabrielle was gorgeous, graceful, and had the voice of a meadowlark… that had been shoved into a blender set on puree. Then thrown into the trunk of a car. With about thirty rabid cats.

Hale winced as a particularly sour note rang through the theater, and he half wanted to beat Kat with a stick for not warning them, half wanted to join her in her laughter (the Bagshaws hadn't hesitated to, and Simon looked _very _close to joining them). The judges looked horrified, and Hale couldn't blame them. Probably the saddest part was that Gabrielle just kept smiling, as if her vocal chords were God's gift to humanity.

Her big blue eyes were twinkling and she smiled widely as she finished. Kat couldn't hold in another giggle as most of the spectators gave a sigh of relief. "Well," one of the judges started, pulling on a strand of dark hair. "That was… um… interesting."

Hale tuned out the rest of the judges' comments, instead turning to look at Kat as she wiped tears of mirth from her eyes. "Thanks for the warning," he said sarcastically, quirking one eyebrow.

"I- I'm sorry," she laughed out. "I just couldn't help it."

"How did you know she was going to be _that _bad?" Angus asked with a good natured shove.

"Ever sing karaoke with a drunk Uncle Freddie in Mexico?"

"No…"

"Don't bring Gabrielle along if you do."

Gabrielle walked up to them slowly a few minutes later, fat tears rolling down from her eyes sadly. She barely made it to Simon before collapsing in his arms, sobbing against his shoulder. The poor boy stiffened up instantly, wrapping a wooden arm around her shoulders. "They hated me!" she said with a sob, wiping her eyes as her mascara bled.

"Oh Gabs," Kat said with a sad expression, no sign of her previous mirth (though Hale still suspected that she was laughing on the inside). "They loved you! Just… not your voice…" she trailed off, pulling the sobbing girl into a hug. After a few seconds, she stepped back, nodding for the boys to comfort the girl as she walked towards the other side of the theater. Hale watched her with a confused expression, but then focused back on the heart-broken girl.

"You do realize that you weren't really here to compete, right?"

"It's the principle of the thing!" she shrieked, glaring heavily at the smirking boy. Angus and Hamish began prattling off different schemes they could try next, trying to distract Gabrielle from her horrific failure, and Simon took a huge step back. He cared about Gabrielle, there was no doubting that, but he was _not _good with crying girls. He looked up to the stage as a distraction and felt his jaw hit the floor.

"Um, Hale?" he squeaked, eyes wide behind his owlish glasses. Hale looked up to where Simon was pointing with a shaking finger and felt his jaw follow Simon's to the floor.

"So, your name is…" one of the judges trailed off, looking up at the tiny girl that stood on stage. She was fairly plain compared to the girl that had gone before, but her black skinny jeans emphasized surprisingly long legs and the graphic tee flaunted curves that six months ago, none of the boys had known she had.

"Catharine Knightsbury, but my friends call me Kat," she said with a small smile, blue eyes shining (none of the judges noticed how she and the Montoya girl shared the same eyes, almost like sisters).

"And you'll be singing what for us?" the young male judge said, looking Kat up and down slowly and a slimy smile crawling across his lips. Hale resisted the urge to go up there and punch him in the face for staring at _his _girlfr- best friend like that (You saw nothing).

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see," Kat said with a wink. Hale's jaw went back to the floor at the flirtatious move, and he wondered where exactly she had learned to do tha-

"That's my move!" Gabrielle said indignantly. "Very well done, cousin dearest," she said with narrowed eyes, "Very well done."

That explains it.

A soft guitar began to play, and the four boys cringed, waiting for another disaster.

_I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart  
>But you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start<em>

Hale felt his breath leave him, Kat's voice the only thing he could focus on. Her voice had a magical quality to it, something that made you focus all of your attention on the small, unobtrusive girl.

"Holy-" Gabrielle started, eyes wide. "Why didn't she offer to go first instead of making me look like a fool!"

_You put your arms around me  
>And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go<br>You put your arms around me and I'm home_

"Hale, she's getting in," Simon said, a slight hint of awe in his voice, "The plan's still a go!" Hale just nodded, his eyes on Kat. Her eyes had fluttered closed as her lips brushed the microphone, and he was hooked.

_How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around  
>I can't decide if I let you save my life or if I drown <em>

_I hope that you see right through my walls  
>I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling<br>I'll never let a love get so close  
>You put your arms around me and I'm home<em>

_The world is coming down on me and I can't find a reason to be loved_  
><em>I never wanna leave you but I can't make you bleed if I'm alone<em>

Hale's eyes widened as Kat's eyes shot open and she looked right at him, a sad smile on her lips. He honestly felt like the only other person in the room, even though he could feel the rest of the crowd watching the tiny girl.

_You put your arms around me  
>And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go<em>

_I hope that you see right through my walls_  
><em>I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling<em>  
><em>I'll never let a love get so close<em>  
><em>You put your arms around me and I'm home<em>

The judges were in love, the whole group could see it in their eyes. The crowd too. Simon was right, she was a shoe in. And the best part was, none of them suspected that she was going to snatch a priceless necklace right out from under their noses.

_I tried my best to never let you in to see the truth  
>And I've never opened up<br>I've never truly loved 'Till you put your arms around me  
>And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go<em>

_I hope that you see right through my walls_  
><em>I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling<em>  
><em>I'll never let a love get so close<em>  
><em>You put your arms around me and I'm home<em>

_You put your arms around me and I'm home_

Kat stepped away from the mike, a shy smile on her face. The crowd erupted in cheers, and the Bagshaws began to whoop and holler, pumping their fists in the air. Both Gabrielle and Simon began to cheer with them, and Hale just smiled. Kat sneaked a look over at them and smiled widely. She barely heard the judges' praise, she only saw the faces of her crew, lighting up like the fourth of July.

When the judges gave her praise, she said "Thank you!" at all the right times. When they told her that she had gotten in, she started to cry at the exact right moment. She ran off the stage like an excited contender, just like she was supposed to, and when she got over to her friends, they all hugged her and praised her like _they_ were supposed to. But when Hale picked her up and spun her around, Kat didn't laugh and hug him back. She didn't tease him and push herself away like she always did. Her legs came to life, wrapping around his hips, and she grabbed his face between her hands.

Hale stopped spinning her immediately, brown eyes wide. Kat just smirked, mouthed "Payback," and kissed him full on the lips.

Angus and Hamish might have cheered. Simon might have fainted. Gabrielle might have rolled her eyes and smiled knowingly. But the only thing that mattered was that this time, Hale simply held her closer, closed his eyes, and kissed her back. It wasn't a long kiss, but when Hale put her back on her feet, Kat swayed a bit and smiled.

"So all it took was me to make a fool of myself to get you two to kiss?" Gabrielle said with a sigh. "Boy, I should have tried that _weeks _ago." Kat and Hale just smiled, Kat turning on her heel and striding towards the door.

"Come on guys, we have a necklace to steal."

**-0-**

"**Arms"**

**By Christina Perri**

**-0-**

**I have no explanation for this. And you know what?**

**WHO CARES! *confetti rains down from the ceiling* FLUFF FOR EVERYONE! *children cheer in background***

**Sorry 'bout the lack of an Author's note last chapter, I couldn't think of anything to say (which is funny, because my notes are always the longest part of my stories). This is going to be about 30 chapters, each a different one-shot. Some are AU's, some are canon, and ALL are filled to the brim with fluff. Senseless, plotless, fluff.**

**My favorite kind.**

**Thanks to everyone who faved and followed this story, your support means a lot! A special thanks to my reviewers that made the first chapter a successful one. Hopefully we'll be able to get some more of the ffNet world to take notice of this highly underappreciated series (All my Soul Eater readers, I'm looking at you.) **

**Not all of the chapters will be updated this quickly, or be this long (some will be longer, some will be shorter), and seeing as I have at least two other stories still in the works, updates will be random (Wednesdays?). I have all the one-shots planned out though, so don't worry about that. **

**Next chapter!**

**A Happy Kat: "Nadia smiled down at her five year old daughter as the young girl presented her with three wallets, two hotel keycards, and giant lollipop she had snatched from a particularly loud baby."**

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**We aren't above stealing reviews.**

**Really, we aren't.**

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	3. A Happy Kat

**I do not own Uncommon Criminals, or any of the characters that Ally Carter created. I'm just borrowing them, and I promise I'll put them back where I found them when I'm done.**

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**A Happy Kat**

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'_There's always one good thing about visiting Uncle Eddie,_' Nadia thought with a tranquil smile, tucking a strand of long, dark hair behind her ear, '_Central Park.'_ The spring breeze kept her cool under the sun, along with the floppy hat she wore. Her blue sundress she wore was smoothed over her long legs as she sat on one of the many benches in the large park. She had left her uncle's brownstone when her husband Bobby and the rest of the men began to discuss their latest heist. It wasn't that she couldn't keep up (Nadia could run circles around most of those men), she just had more important things to do.

"Mommy! Mommy!" A small girl ran towards the older thief, her black braid swinging around in the breeze.

Speak of the devil.

"What is it Kat?" Nadia smiled down at her five year old daughter as the young girl presented her with three wallets, two hotel keycards, and giant lollipop she had snatched from a particularly loud baby.

"Lookie what I got!" Kat said happily, her blue eyes shining. "They didn' even notice me!"

"That's my girl," the mother said proudly, pulling the five year old into her lap and pressing her lips to the girl's pale cheek. Nadia reached down for her bag and held it open so that Kat could dump the day's spoils in. Once the stolen goods were put away, they both relaxed into the bench, their faces turned up to the sun.

"Hey Mommy?" Kat asked suddenly, not looking away from the two birds that were playing a game of tag in the air. Nadia made a quiet noise of acknowledgment, looking down at her tiny daughter. "Are we always gonna be like this?" she continued, looking up at her mother with hopeful blue eyes. "You, me, and Daddy, we're always going to be together, right?"

Nadia frowned slightly, her eyebrows creasing slightly. "Well, not always sweetie," she said slowly.

"Wha!" Kat cried, standing suddenly on the bench so that she was at eye level with her mother. Confusion and determination danced in her deep blue eyes and her mother couldn't help but think that she was going to grow up to be a beautiful young lady. "I never wanna leave you and Daddy! Never ever ever ever ever!" she screamed, shaking her head so violently that some strands of dark hair came loose from her braid.

"Shhhhhh," Nadia said soothingly, placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders, "There there Kat, there's no need to cry." The five year old swallowed back her tears, staring at her mother with watery eyes. "Your father and I are always going to be here, watching over you. But one day, you're going to have your own crew, and you'll travel all over the world," Nadia winked," Maybe even meet a cute boy."

"EEEW!" Kat squealed, giggling like mad. "Boys are gross!"

"You say that now," Nadia teased, tickling her daughter slightly. "But just promise me it won't be one of the Bagshaws."

"No worries there," Kat said with a shudder.

"You wouldn't want me and Daddy there all the time, looking over your shoulder all the time. You would want to try and pull some big, marvelous heist on your own, without silly ol' us holding you back." Kat looked up at her mom with wonder in her eyes, a small pout on her face.

"But you'll still be here when I come home, right Mommy?" she asked sadly, the prospect of doing anything without her beloved mother at her side scaring the younger girl. Nadia smiled softly, pulling her small daughter into a close hug.

"I'll always be there sweetie. Always."

**-0-**

***vomits up kittens***

… **That's not normal. This is what writing/reading too much fluff does to you folks! HEED MY WARNING!**

**Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up folks, I was grounded for a week from the computer, so yeah. I also had a lot of problems with the ending of this, because I kept wanting to add angst but then I would look at the title and think, 'Brain… SHUT UP! PLEASE!'**

**I'm done.**

**News just came out that Drew Barrymore will be directing the movie version of Heist Society! More of a reason for me to watch Whip It I guess (same director and screenplay writer). Also, Hale won the YA Crush ****Tourney against Nash Hudson from Seed 16. That's our boy!**

**Thanks to all of the reviewers and followers of this story! It means a lot to me!**

***to self* What else what else what else…**

**Um, follow the link on my Author's page to my dA, where I'll start putting up some Heist Society art soon (-)!**

**AND! I'm looking for a beta for this story, so if you're interested, PM me!**

**See y'all next Wednesday**

**Next Chapter!**

**A Sneaky Kat: "How she had gone from master thief to matchmaker was beyond her, especially considering how horrifically **_**awful **_**she was with boys."**

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**We aren't above stealing reviews.**

**Really, we aren't.**

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	4. A Sneaky Kat

**I do not own Heist Society, or any of the characters that Ally Carter created. I'm just borrowing them, and I promise I'll put them back where I found them when I'm done.**

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**A Sneaky Kat**

**Aka, "Kat the Matchmaker"**

_**(WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR UNCOMMON CRIMINALS)**_

**-0-**

Hale was the first one to notice it, though he would never admit to it. Him and Kat were just sitting at the kitchen table, watching the rest of their crew work on casing the Henley when he randomly said, "They look good together."

"Who?" Kat asked around her muffin, brushing the crumbs from her bottom lip with her thumb.

"Gabs and Simon," the billionaire elaborated, pointing at the two. Gabrielle was curled next to Simon, watching as he tapped away on his laptop. "They're kinda cute. Got that whole 'Beauty and The Geek' thing going for them," he said with a shrug, reaching across the table and snatching a piece of Kat's muffin.

"Really? I never would have thought," the thief said with a quirked eyebrow. She gave it another moment's thought, but when her friend reached across to steal another piece of her chocolate muffin, she forgot it in favor for fighting him off with a wooden spoon.

Nick was the next to see it. Kat remembered he had been sitting next to her at their little party, watching as Simon and Gabs laughed as the geeky boy tried (and failed) to dip the elegant teen (again).

"So how long have those two been going out?" he asked nonchalantly, leaning into Kat's personal bubble. After two years of knowing Hale, her personal bubble was pretty legitimately dead, but she still shied away from him ever so slightly (across the room, a billionaire smirked).

"Who, Gabs and Simon?" Kat said with a quick, nervous laugh. "Nah, they're not dating. I think Gabrielle is actually after some guy named Sven in, what, Switzerland?" Nick just watched the two spin around the room and shrugged.

"Whatever you say Kat," he said with a small smile, dropping the subject to stare down with a certain sixteen year old thief.

When Hamish and Angus noticed it, Kat knew it was official.

So suddenly, the young thief found herself watching the two out of the corner of her eye, looking for evidence that the two really were into each other. And it worried her how much she found. Thieves were supposed to be observant! So how the _hell _did she miss this! Kat could have blamed the six months she spent at Cologan, but considering how the girls at that school were always gossiping about the latest couples and who they thought were going to get together, she knew that theory held as much water as the Bagshaw's "Romani Reincarnation" theory.

Even after the Henley, Kat didn't forget the two. She thought of them in between jobs, giving in to her inner girl and plotting various ways to get them together. How she had gone from master thief to matchmaker was beyond her, especially considering how horrifically _awful _she was with boys. But none the less, here she was, acting very much like a girl.

It was a little scary honestly.

When Kat came back to steal the Cleopatra Emerald, she couldn't help but go back to her sneaky self, watching the two interact out of the corner of her eye.

Well, she thought she was being sneaky.

"What are you doing?" The small girl jumped, blue eyes wide. Hale just quirked an eyebrow as Kat clutched the fabric over her heart.

"God Hale, don't scare me like that!" she hissed, eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing?" he asked again, leaning down so that he could rest his chin on her shoulder. Kat blushed a bit from the proximity, but choose to ignore it.

"Watching Gabrielle and Simon," she admitted.

"Katarina Bishop," Hale said with a smirk and a shake of his head, "You're secretly a romantic, aren't you?" His only answer was a blush, and he laughed loudly in her ear.

"Oh get off me," she huffed, pushing him away. Instead of just stepping away, he flopped onto the floor on his back, smiling up at Kat. She only resisted for a few seconds before she smiled and sat down next to him, shaking her head. "Don't tell okay? It's your fault anyways, you're the one that pointed them out to me."

"Sorry," he said with a smirk, not sounding very sorry. "So, come up with any genius plans yet?" Hale sat up, smiling warmly at the inky haired teen. Kat just sighed, running her fingers through her hair with a frown.

"Believe it or not, I'm actually not that good with relationships or guys or anything of the sort," she grumbled, glaring ahead of her. Hale rolled his eyes, thinking '_Noooo, really? I hadn't noticed.' _

"Do you want some help, or are you good?" Hale offered, scotching closer to the girl and draping an arm lazily over her shoulder. Kat pouted slightly, but sighed, nodding once.

"That would be nice," she admitted.

"Alright, what you have to do is make him jealous," Hale said with a smirk, pointing towards the nerdy boy who was currently writing all over the windows with an Expo marker. "Make him feel like if he doesn't make a move now, he'll never get the chance. But also remember to give him some hope, so he doesn't think it's completely a lost cause."

"Does that really work?" Kat asked, quirking her head to the side. Hale looked at her blankly, thinking of all the times he had caught her interacting with Nick, and the resulting burn of jealousy in his chest.

"Trust me Kat, it works," he said with a small frown. Kat nudged him with her shoulder, looking up at him with questioning blue eyes. He just shook his head, and Kat was about to press the issue more, but one look from Hale's sad brown eyes silenced her.

"So," she asked instead, dropping the subject (for now), "How are we supposed to make him jealous?" Hale just smirked, reaching up and poking her nose.

"Just leave that to me."

**-0-**

"I hope you plan on cleaning my windows once you're done," Hale called out to Simon as he leaned against the door jam. The nerdy boy stopped writing on the window, smiling sheepishly. He went back to the equations that he had scribbled all over Hale's boat, but stopped when he noticed the taller blonde lean against the window.

"I'll clean it Hale, don't worry," Simon said, sighing as he rubbed his chin.

"That's not what I was thinking about," Hale sighed. "I'm worried about Gabrielle." His lip quirked up slightly when Simon froze up, his green eyes widening behind his glasses.

"G-Gabrielle?" he stuttered, trying to hide behind his owlish glasses. Hale smiled before walking over to join his shorter friend, playing with the cap of one of the markers.

"Yeah," he said sadly, shaking his head as if it caused him great pain to say this. "She met this guy in town while we were scooting the city, and she's been texting him _nonstop_. I'm worried she's going to lose focus on the emerald." Hale cackled evilly on the inside when Simon's fist that was holding the marker started to shake. "And not to mention the guy is a total tool-"

"I'll talk to you later!" Simon shouted, storming from the window and towards the door. Kat stepped into the doorway as if she were just coming to talk to Simon - which technically, she was – and came to a halt.

"Hey Simon," she greeted, watching as the nerdy boy stormed past her. "What'cha doing?"

"I need to talk to Gabs!" was the only answer she got, and when Hale came to stand next to her and watch the boy walk away together, he simply smirked.

"Told ya'," he sang, nudging the shorter girl with his hip. Kat bumped him back with a laugh and the two friends walked off, arm in arm, to celebrate their success with one of Marcus' famous smoothies.

**-0-**

Hale was the first one to notice it, nudging Kat's shoulder with his elbow and pointing with a smirk. Gabrielle was storming into the room, her cheeks red and her fists clenched. Simon was following after her, a rather large handprint on the side of his face. But even though he had probably got his butt whooped by a girl, he seemed to be glowing. And Kat discovered why when he walked up to Gabrielle and threw one of his arms around her shoulders, kind of like Hale was always doing with her. Gabrielle sighed, but didn't push him off. She just smiled shyly, the red on her cheeks deepening.

After marveling at how Simon had somehow managed to get taller than Gabrielle, Kat smiled widely, glad that, once again, her plan had come together smoothly.

She loved when that happened.

**-0- **

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	5. A White Kat

**I do not own Heist Society, or any of the characters that Ally Carter created. I'm just borrowing them, and I promise I'll put them back where I found them when I'm done.**

**-0-**

**A White Kat**

**-0-**

If you had ever told me that one day I would be walking down the aisle in an ivory dress, I would have laughed in your face. I would have told you that you were crazy and that you needed to see a doctor. I might have politely suggested that you had inhaled too many paint fumes and that you should go lie down.

But here I was, sitting in a pair of sweats in our hotel room, completely at Gabrielle's mercy. She had shown up at the door this morning, violently kicking Hale out of the room that, yes, he paid for. When I remembered the look on his face as he was pushed into the hall wearing only a pair of Batman pajama pants and a tattered gray t-shirt, I felt my lips pull up in a smile, but then I was roughly smacked upside the head and my smile disappeared.

"God Gabs!" I snapped, glaring heatedly at my cousin, "What did I do this time!"

"No smiling!" she deadpanned, her lips pulling up slightly at my exasperated sigh. "You'll screw me up."

I sighed again, resigning to my fate as my blonde cousin once again pressed her lipstick brush to my lips, applying my make up like a pro. She had already done the rest of my face – how did someone take 30 minutes just to put on eye shadow? – and judging by the plethora of hair gels, sprays, and brushes, she was about to let her girly expertise loose on my now mid-back length hair.

_God help me._

There was a knock on the door, and as I was contemplating going to church more often, Gabrielle walked over to the door and yanked it open with a sharp yell of "WHAT!" Simon visibly cringed on the other side of the door, and Gabs relaxed.

"Uncle Charlie just showed up," he relayed, pulling nervously on the tie of his tuxedo. I smiled, happy that my flighty uncle had decided to see the second of his granddaughters get married (Gabrielle and Simon had Hale and I beat by a few months).

"Thanks babe," Gabrielle said happily, standing on her tip toes so she could kiss her husband. Another wonder of our world, Simon had had one hell of a growth spurt, shooting him up past all of my other crew members. Simon turned his attention to me, and I smiled when his jaw dropped.

"Wow Kat," he breathed, his eyes lighting up behind his glasses as he came over to take a closer look at his wife's handiwork. "You look beautiful! Hale's a lucky guy." I, of course, didn't know what I looked like, seeing as Gabrielle had refused to let me anywhere near a mirror before she was done, but Simon's compliment reassured me that Gabi hadn't gone _too_ crazy. My smile grew as Gabrielle took that opportunity to forcibly kick her husband out, turning back to me and pulling the clip from my dark locks.

As she began to style my hair with a steady hand, my eyes lazed around the room, eventually landing on the white dress hanging off of a mannequin in the corner. My throat went a little dry as I stared at the sleeveless dress, with its bodice covered in lace and small crystals, the white skirt that swirled down to the floor, the white sandals that I knew were hiding under the skirt-

"Kat? Kat, breathe," Gabrielle reminded me, and I took a deep breath in through my mouth, letting it out as a sigh. "You're gonna be fine," she reassured, reaching for her curling iron.

I could feel its heat against my scalp, and I didn't dare turn my head when I asked "What's it like? Getting married?" Gabrielle stopped for a second, but quickly resumed as if she hadn't heard me.

I was about to ask her again when she said "It's like pulling a huge heist. You plan and plan for the big moment, and when it comes, you're as nervous as ever. But then you see him, waiting at the altar with the biggest smile, even though you know he's just as nervous as you are, it's like everything just… falls into place." I smiled, remembering when Hale proposed. Instead of the cool, relaxed man I was used to, he was just a huge bundle of nerves and cuteness. He had rolled off the couch that we had been sitting on, planning our next big heist, and practically flopped onto the floor, scrambling for something in his pocket. When he pulled out the ring, it took him a solid three minutes to figure out what he was going to say. I, of course, said yes, and here we are today.

We fell back into a comfortable silence as Gabrielle worked, curling long strands of my hair into soft ringlets. She pulled half of my hair back with an old diamond clip that had belonged to my mother (which she had stolen from a Queen, so I got "Something old" and "Something borrowed" covered), and styled my bangs to flip out just the right amount. She took a step back, admiring her handiwork as I looked up at her through my darkened lashes.

"Perfect," she said mostly to herself, smiling widely. "I'm going to grab my mom so she can help you into your dress while I take care of my make up," Gabi said, her hand already on the doorknob. "Do _not _look in the mirror yet!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," I called back playfully. Gabrielle gave me one final smile before disappearing into the hall.

As I sat on my little stool, whistling to myself and twiddling my thumbs, I heard the door creak open. "Hale, if that's you I'm going to kill you," I said calmly.

"It's just us love," Angus said with a laugh, laying one of his large hands on my shoulder. Hamish came up on my other side and bent down so that I could give him a quick hug.

"You look fantastic Kat!" Hamish complimented, and I beamed at him.

"Thanks guys. Is there something you need?" I asked, quirking my head to the side. Both Bagshaw brothers looked at each other, and a little alarm began to ring in the back of my head. "Oh no," was all I said, and I began to stand.

"No no no," Hamish said, pushing me back down with a laugh. "It's nothing bad."

"We've got a gift for you," his brother added, pulling a long thin box from his back pocket. He handed it to me with a smile, and after giving both brothers a "What are you up to" look, I pulled the lid off.

"Oh my god," I breathed, pulling the bracelet from its cotton cocoon. "Guys, it's beautiful."

"Yeah, we figured we'd help you out with the 'something blue,'" Hamish said with a smile, reaching down and easily clasping the delicate looking bracelet around my thin wrist. Thin silver wires swirled in curlicues around my wrist, eventually meeting a medium sized sapphire in the middle.

"It's Tiffany's," Angus said proudly.

"It's stolen," I said with a smile and a quirked eyebrow. The boys just smiled sheepishly and shrugged. I laughed, glad that even though they were both bigger and taller than they were at age 16, they were still the same goofballs that they had always been.

"What are you guys doing?" Gabrielle stormed into the room, her mother trailing behind. The Bagshaws both jumped, eyes wide.

"They were just giving me a gift," I defended, holding out my wrist for the blonde to inspect. She looked at it with a critical eye and nodded.

"Good choice boys," she said, and promptly shooed them out of the room. My Aunt Irina came over and helped me stand, smiling widely at me.

"Oh Kat," she sighed. "You look so beautiful. And so much like your mother." I smiled widely at her, feeling a dampness begin to gather in my eyes. "She would have loved to be here with you," my aunt continued, but Gabrielle rushed over, yelling that I wasn't allowed to cry and ruin her makeup job. My aunt rolled her eyes and I laughed, both of us instantly stilling when Gabrielle turned to glare at us. She passed my wedding dress to her mother and I felt my throat dry up again. Gabrielle had been adamant that Hale not see my wedding dress before the big day, and though he had protested, she simply would not allow it.

"What if he doesn't like my dress?" I asked, voicing my inner turmoil.

"Kat," Gabrielle deadpanned, "You could be walking down the aisle completely butt naked, and Hale would still think you were the most beautiful bride in the world." I felt my face flush and Gabrielle laughed. "But that's for later!" she joked, nudging my ribs with her elbow. I was no virgin, but really? Irina was right there!

"Gabrielle!" her mother cried, but Gabi had already moved on, instructing me to remove my comfortable sweatpants and the button down I had kidnapped from Hale. I grudgingly removed my clothes after realizing that she wasn't going to let me change in peace. Gabi took one look at my ratty underwear and nearly ripped my head off. She threw me into the bathroom with a Victoria's Secret bag, and I wanted to hiss at her, true to my nickname, but I just changed into the demure ivory bra and panties. I noticed she had covered the mirror and I had to roll my eyes at her antics.

"Hurry up Kat!" Gabrielle yelled at me, and I felt a vein pop in my head.

"We still have a whole hour!" I yelled back, emerging from the bathroom with a growl. Irina just smiled, tugging me closer so that I could step into the dress. Both mother and daughter helped me pull it up, and Irina quickly laced up the back, tying it into a bow at the bottom. I smoothed the bodice down my body, the fabric hugging my stomach and breasts closely. I slipped my feet into the sandals, and turned to Irina with a smile.

After quickly fixing my hair and slipping a shining tiara (that I was pretty sure had been stolen from a heiress in LA) into my dark hair, my aunt took a step back, looking me up and down. She held her hands close to her chest, and I could tell that she was seeing her little sister on _her _wedding day. I just smiled serenely.

"I am awesome," Gabrielle said as she walked up to me, her makeup already done. She steered me towards the full length mirror, which yes, she had covered, and left my side to hold the sheet in both hands. "Are you ready?" she asked, and I was tempted to say "no." But she was already pulling the sheet away from the mirror, and I stood in shock, staring at my reflection.

Or what I thought was my reflection.

The girl in the mirror was stunning, even more beautiful than Gabrielle if that was even possible. The dress highlighted every curve I had, emphasizing the swell of my breasts. I was aware that I was gaping, and I could practically hear Gabrielle's pride swelling. "Told ya'," she sang, smiling widely at me. She had changed into her bridesmaid dress and threw an arm around my waist so that we were both looking at our reflections. We turned to each other and smiled, laughing.

There was a knock on the door, and we all turned towards the opening door. My smile brightened when my dad poked his head in. "Everybody decent?" he asked, and I called back with a "Yeah!" He stepped all the way inside and looked at me with an incredulous expression. "Wow Kitty," he said with a smile, holding his arms out in the universal sign for a hug. I ran into his arms, smiling widely. "You look so beautiful,"' he said, pulling back and taking my face in his hands. Gabrielle yelled something about smooshing my makeup, but we just ignored her. "Hale better know how lucky he is to have a girl like you," he said with a smirk.

"Daaad~!" I laughed, smiling up at him. "Be nice to Hale!" He sighed, as if my request caused him great pain – even though I know for a fact that he loved Hale to bits – but smiled. He took a step back and offered me his arm. Panic flooded in as I looked up at the clock and realized that my time was up, and that I was due at the altar in ten minutes. I swallowed and looked back at my dad with wide eyes. He smiled reassuringly and grabbed my hand, looping his arm through mine.

"Come on Kitty, Hale's waiting for you." That was all I really needed to hear, and soon I was walking down the hall, Gabrielle and Aunt Irina trailing after me. My other two bridesmaids, Angus and Hamish's girlfriends, stood at the door to the chapel, holding a bouquet in each hand.

"There you are Kat!" Angus's girlfriend, a con woman named Morgan, said in her think Scottish accent. "Everybody's waiting!"

"Yeah girl, Hale is a mess up there!" Nicole chirped, handing me my bouquet. "He's gonna wear a track in the floor if he keeps pacing like that!" I smiled, able to easily picture my fiancé pacing nervously at the front. I hoped he wasn't biting his nails, a nervous habit he had picked up from Simon.

"You ready Kitty?" my dad asked. I looked up at him and nodded, taking a deep breath. The doors opened in front of me, and I took a step forward as the wedding march started to play and Hale looked up at me like I was the sun. I smiled at him, and he smiled back, motioning me forward with a jerk of his head. I giggled, and my dad grinned as we headed down the isle, towards my fiancé and the new life that waited for me. And as Morgan, Nicole, and Gabbie took their places in front of the church and my father kissed my hand and put it in Hale's, I waved good bye to Katarina Bishop and welcomed Katarina Hale into her spot with open arms.

**-0- **

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